Saturday, October 27, 2012

Fall Foliage Scenic Drive - Mohawk Trail Massachusetts

Fall Foliage Scenic Drive - Mohawk Trail Massachusetts


This is my favorite Massachusetts scenic drive, but especially during the fall foliage season.


http://farm9.static.flickr.com/8335/8101520667_0c19211a4a_m.jpg

Fall Foliage Scenic Drive - Mohawk Trail Massachusetts


Stretching for 63 miles from the Massachusetts-New York border to Millers Falls on the Connecticut River is a stretch of road known as The Mohawk Trail. It offers one of Massachusetts most beloved and popular fall foliage scenic drives area.


Rockwell

Fall Foliage Scenic Drive - Mohawk Trail Massachusetts


Attractions in the region of the Mohawk Trail are Mount Greylock, The Bridge of Flowers, Glacial Potholes, a natural marble bridge formed by erosion, state forests, old Indian hiking trails, and a plethora of country inns, gift shops, and arts and craft attractions.



Fall Foliage Scenic Drive - Mohawk Trail Massachusetts

Fall Foliage Scenic Drive - Mohawk Trail Massachusetts


The trail more or less follows the footpath trade and travel route used by the peoples in this part of the northeast since postglacial age. The path was well trodden and used to move between the Hudson and Connecticut River valleys.

Anytime of the year traveling this same path by road through this part of the Berkshire Hills is relaxing and inspiring... but especially during fall foliage season when everything is cloaked and carpeted in vibrant autumn colors.

This fall foliage scenic drive covers most of the major attractions and plenty of time for stopping and admiring the view or picking up an antique or two. The drive is approximately 65 miles but you should allow all day for viewing in an unhurried and gentle manner.

Start on Route 7 in Lanesborough, just south of Route 2. Follow Lanesborough one mile north to Rockwell Road on the right. This road leads to the summit of Mount Greylock.

The trip to the summit offers splendid view of the valleys and other peaks in the area. A few miles on Rockwell Road is the Mount Greylock Visitor center. Here you can get trail maps and general information about the area.

At the summit is the War Memorial Tower. The climb to the top of a 92-foot-tall tower at the summit provides magnificent views of five states. Once your summit viewing is complete take the Notch Road down to meet the Mohawk Trail on Route 2 in North Adams.

North Adams celebrates the autumn season with the North Adams Fall Foliage Festival and Parade. This is usually the last weekend of September or the first weekend of October. In North Adams is the Western Gateway Heritage State Park, which features an exhibit on the building of the Hoosac Tunnel. Close by east of North Adams off Route 2 and 8 is Natural Bridge State Park.

Follow Route 2 east out of North Adams ascending the Hoosac Mountain Range until Hairpin Turn and then onto the Western Summit. Here you can stop and admire the vistas of Mount Greylock, Vermont's Green Mountains, and the valley below.

How fast or slow you take the next part of the journey depends on time. Continuing on Route 2 east takes you though Charlemont where the famous "Hail to the Sunrise" statue stands in Memorial Park.

The eastern end of this scenic drive on the Mohawk Trail on Route 2 takes you out to Shelburne Falls where you can view The Bridge of Flowers - a transformed trolley bridge - and the Glacial Potholes below Salmon Falls, where time has produced interesting geological pools.

Scattered throughout this drive are state parks, hikes along ancient trails, scenic views, and of course specialty shopping and dinning opportunities. So as you wind your way around on this tour take time to enjoy this area of a window into the area's heritage.

For more information and details on the Mohawk Trail region visit the trails official web site at http://www.mohawktrail.com.

Fall Foliage Scenic Drive - Mohawk Trail Massachusetts






Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Water And Your Health - Debunking The 12 Common Myths About Water! Part 2 Of 2

Water And Your Health - Debunking The 12 Common Myths About Water! Part 2 Of 2


In Part 1 of this series, we discussed why water is so important to our health as well as debunked the first two myths of water. In this follow-up article, we focus on the next 10 myths of water we were brought up with.

Water And Your Health - Debunking The 12 Common Myths About Water! Part 2 Of 2

Water And Your Health - Debunking The 12 Common Myths About Water! Part 2 Of 2

Water And Your Health - Debunking The 12 Common Myths About Water! Part 2 Of 2


Water And Your Health - Debunking The 12 Common Myths About Water! Part 2 Of 2



Water And Your Health - Debunking The 12 Common Myths About Water! Part 2 Of 2

Myth No 3 - When in doubt, buy bottled water!

Despite the high standard of production of almost everything in many developed countries, it is interesting to note that few developed countries have a standard for bottled water. In the US and Europe, bottled water have been found to be actually tap water and some contains cancer causing agents. Do a search using the keywords, "Cancer bottled water" in Google and you will see amazing reports of bottled water which contains high level of cancer causing agents. So the US and Europe are two of the most developed regions in the world and yet they do not have a standard for bottled water. If you, like me are living in Asia, can you imagine where most of our bottled water is coming from? Countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. Can you imagine what kind of manufacturing standards these countries will have for their water?

Myth No 4 - Drink when you are thirsty!

There is an old saying that goes,"Listen to your body!". Others like "Eat when you are hungry", "Sleep when you are sleepy" seems to hold true, so does "Drink when you are thirsty" applies? Well, the correct answer here is a firm, "No". You see, water is much like oxygen or fuel for your car. You don't breathe only when you need oxygen. You don't top up your car only when it has run out of fuel? Your body needs to be hydrated all the time. The moMent it is a little bit short of water, the body goes into a conservation mode. It uses less and the body becomes less efficient. Your blood thickens, your kidney becomes less effective and your whole body functions at less than 100%. Some symptoms of insufficient water do not even manifest themselves as thirst. For example, many times when you have a headache, it is a sign of de-hydration, but you do not feel thirsty. So, Water should be drunk on a regular basis instead only when you feel thirsty!

Myth No 5 - Too much water makes your body retain water and makes you fat!

As Mentioned in Myth No 4, your body has a self regulating mechanism. When your body does not have enough water, it goes into conservation mode. Your body actually retains water. So the more water you drink, the less it retains!

Myth No 6 - Chlorinated water is clean water

While chlorine has been known to kill many germs and bacteria, chlorine itself is a poison. In fact, chlorine is a bleaching agent and that is why many swimmers have bleached hAir when they swim in a pool daily. Laboratory test have shown strong associations between drinking chlorinated water and many forms of rectal, colon and bladder cancer. Chlorine is also a gas and not easily removed by boiling. In fact, laboratory tests have also shown that water needs to be boiled for at least 40mins before they can be removed.

Myth No 7 - Boiling water is good as it kills bacteria and germs

Boiling Water does kill many forms of Germs and Bacteria. However, boiling chlorinated water and water with impurities and in-organic substances in it can change the chemical composition of these substances causing some of them to become carcinogenic. The human body is also known to absorb a lot of oxygen from the fluids it take in and boiling water actually drives out a good amount of oxygen from the water. While this itself is not harmful as we do breathe in substantial amount of oxygen in our normal process of inhalation, why drive out something that is good? Cool water (room temperature) is also absorbed better and Faster by the body than warm water.

Myth No 8 - Ice cold Beer is a great thirst quencher!

Beer contains alcohol and while an ice-cold beer will certainly feel good on a hot day and after some heavy activity, alcohol actually draws fluid out from the blood streams via a process called osmosis.

Myth No 9 - There is no difference between Aerated Water and Still Water other than the fact that it is Aerated!

In Myth No 7, we discussed about boiling water and driving oxygen out of water. Aerated water is even worse than that. Aerated water is actually water filled with Carbon Dioxide. Most of us know that Carbon Dioxide is what our body expels when we exhale. CO2 are considered to be "Toxins" and not usable by the body. Why in the world would we want to put these back into the body?

Myth No 10 - Wine contains anti-oxidant and is good for you

While it is true that wine contains anti-oxidant and anti-oxidant is generally good for you, it does not necessarily mean that Wine is good for you. Like all things, too much of a good thing can be bad. This "excuse" was probably coined up by wine lovers as a justification to drink more! If the Anti-Oxidants in wine is good for you, why not go to the source and eat grapes instead?

Myth No 11 - I Filter my water with one of those portable Filters, so it must be clean enough!

Not all Filters are made equal. In fact, if you have a filter that is portable, it probably is not good enough. The other tell-tale sign that your filter is not good enough is when Water flows through it easily. A good filter has to filter out particles as small as 0.0001 micron and the only filter that can do this in the world is a filter utilizing a process call Reverse Osmosis. The filter pores are so small that water will not flow through without some force pushing it across. Reverse Osmosis uses a pump to "push" the water against a membrane so that it flows through it leaving the impurities behind. The pores are so small that even bacteria and germs will not go through it.

If you cannot find a good RO filter, the other option is to use a water distiller. Nature has its own way of distillation via evaporation and rainfall. However, in today's industrialised world, the Air is so polluted that when the rain falls back to earth, it would have absorbed back a good amount of impurities; hence the term "acid rain". Distillation is a slow process but it produces some of the cleanest water around, on par with those of Reverse Osmosis.

Myth No 12 - Alkaline Water is best for the body!

This myth must have been developed from the Alkaline Diet concept which is highly popular. While it is true that our body should be maintained in a slightly alkaline state to be healthy, it does not necessarily mean that all Foods which are alkaline are good! Also some acidic Food does leave behind an "alkaline ash" that is beneficial for the body eg lemon and lime.

There are also two major parts of our body that must remain acidic for us to be healthy. One is the skin and the other is the stomach. The stomach has acidic digestive juices which help in breaking down Food and digestion. Drinking too much water during Food intake actually dilutes the digestive juices and lessen the effectiveness of the digestive process. Drinking alkaline water not only dilutes the digestive acides, it neutralises them as well. For this reason, pure water should have a neutral pH of 7 and it was always recommended to drink water at least half and hour before a meal rather than during a meal. Drinking water half an hour before eating has several advanTAGes. It keeps your stomach full so you do not over-eat. It also does not dilute the digestive juices as much as drinking while eating does.

Can you over drink? I've read a few cases of it. Overdosage of water is called Hyponatremia and can cause complications although this is rare. Water can flush out toxins from the body but when you overdo it, it can also flush out useful minerals. However, unless you go on long durations of water Fasting, this should not be a major concern.

So there you go, 12 myths of water and hydration that we hear all the time. How much water do we need? The rule of thumb is that an average person needs about eight 8oz glasses of water per day. For every 25 pounds overweight, an extra glass will have to be added. The above recommendation is only for a normal lifestyle. However, if you are active and into sports, you'll need to drink a lot more. Let's drink to our health!

Water And Your Health - Debunking The 12 Common Myths About Water! Part 2 Of 2

Friday, September 21, 2012

Stocks VS Bonds - Differences and Risks

Stocks VS Bonds - Differences and Risks


In the world of investMents, you'll often hear about stocks and bonds. They are both feasible forms of investMent. They allow you the opportunity to invest your money with a specific company or corporation with the possibility of future profits. But how exactly do they work? And what are the differences between the two?

Stocks VS Bonds - Differences and Risks

Stocks VS Bonds - Differences and Risks

Stocks VS Bonds - Differences and Risks


Stocks VS Bonds - Differences and Risks



Stocks VS Bonds - Differences and Risks

Bonds

Let's start with bonds. The easiest way to define a bond is through the concept of a loan. When you invest in bonds, you are essentially loaning your money to a company, corporation, or governMent of your choosing. That institution, in turn, will give you a receipt for your loan, along with a promise of interest, in the form of a bond.

Bonds are bought and sold in the open market. Fluctuation in their values occurs depending on the interest rate of the general economy. Basically, the interest rate directly affects the worth of your investMent. For instance, if you have a thousand Dollar bond which pays the interest of 5% yearly, you can sell it at a higher face value provided the general interest rate is below 5%. And if the rate of interest rises above 5%, the bond, though it can still be sold, is usually sold at less than its face value.

The logic behind this system is that the investors deal with a higher rate of interest then the actual bond pays. Thus, the bond is sold at lower value in order to offset the gap. The OTC market, which is comprised of banks and security firms, is the favourite trading place for bonds, because corporate bonds can be listed on the stock exchange, and can be purchased through stock brokers.

With bonds, unlike stocks, you, as the investor, will not directly benefit from the success of the company or the amount of its profits. Instead, you will receive a fixed rate of return on your bond. Basically, this means that whether the company is wildly successful OR has an abysmal year of business, it will not affect your investment. Your bond return rate will be the same. Your return rate is the percenTAGe of the original offer of the bond. This percenTAGe is called the coupon rate.

It is also important to remember that bonds have maturity dates. Once a bond hits its maturity date, the principal amount paid for that bond is returned to the investor. Different bonds are issued different maturity dates. Some bonds can have up to 30 years of maturity period.

When dealing in bonds, the greatest investment risk that you face is the possibility of the principal investment amount NOT being paid back to you. Obviously, this risk can be somewhat controlled through the careful assessment of the companies or institutions that you choose to invest in.

Those companies that possess more credit worthiness are generally safer investments when it comes to bonds. The best example of a "safe" bond is the government bond. Another is the blue chip company bond. Blue chip companies are well-established companies that have proven and successful track records over a long span of time. Of course, such companies will have lower coupon rates.

If you're willing to take a greater risk for better coupon rates, then you would probably end up choosing the companies with low credit ratings, companies that are unproven or unstable. Keep in mind, there is a great risk of default on the bonds from smaller corporations; however, the other side of the coin is that bond holders of such companies are preferential creditors. They get compensated before the stock holders in the event of a business going bankrupt.

So, for less risk, choose to invest in bonds from established companies. You will be likely to cash in on your returns, but they will probably not be very large. Or, you can choose to invest in smaller, unproven companies. The risk is greater, but if it pays off, your bank account will be greater, too. As in any investment venture, there is a trade-off between the risks and the possible rewards of bonds.

Stocks

Stocks represent shares of a company. These shares give part of the ownership of the company to you, the share-holder. Your stake in that company is defined by the amount of shares that you, the investor, own. Stock comes in mid-caps, small caps, and large caps.

As with bonds, you can decrease the risk of stock trading by choosing your stocks carefully, assessing your investments and weighing the risk of different companies. Obviously, an entrenched and well-known corporation is much more likely to be stable then a new and unproven one. And the stock will reflect the stability of the companies.

Stocks, unlike bonds, fluctuate in value and are traded in the stock market. Their worth is based directly on the performance of the company. If the company is doing well, growing, and attaining profits, then so does the value of the stock. If the company is weakening or failing, the stock of that company decreases in value.

There are various ways in which stocks are traded. In addition to being traded as shares of a company, stock can also be traded in the form of options, which is a type of Futures trading. Stock can also be sold and brought in the stock market on a daily basis. The value of a certain stock can increase and decrease according to the rise and fall in the stock market. Because of this, investing in stocks is much riskier than investing in bonds.

The Wrap-Up

Both stocks and bonds can become profitable investments. But it is important to remember that both options also carry a certain amount of risk. Being aware of that risk and taking steps to minimize it and control it, not the other way around, will help you to make the right choices when it comes to your financial decisions. The key to wise investing is always good research, a solid strategy, and guidance you can trust.

Stocks VS Bonds - Differences and Risks

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Is Biblical Joseph the Imhotep of Egypt (Famine-Savior)? (Extra-Biblical Proof!)

Is Biblical Joseph the Imhotep of Egypt (Famine-Savior)? (Extra-Biblical Proof!)


Joseph- and the Hebrews to Egypt

Is Biblical Joseph the Imhotep of Egypt (Famine-Savior)? (Extra-Biblical Proof!)

Is Biblical Joseph the Imhotep of Egypt (Famine-Savior)? (Extra-Biblical Proof!)

Is Biblical Joseph the Imhotep of Egypt (Famine-Savior)? (Extra-Biblical Proof!)


Is Biblical Joseph the Imhotep of Egypt (Famine-Savior)? (Extra-Biblical Proof!)



Is Biblical Joseph the Imhotep of Egypt (Famine-Savior)? (Extra-Biblical Proof!)

Morality lessons can be found in every episode of biblical Joseph's life: sold into slavery by brothers, angry and jealous of his braggadocio and their father's favoritism; overcomes false charges and prison by his ability to interpret dreams; rises to great personal power and authority by his administrative ability; saves Egypt, all neighboring peoples and his own family from starvation during a prolonged famine. In the process he makes Egypt extremely wealthy (during the seven lean years, when only Egypt had store-house-cities full of grain from seven prior bountiful years). The biblical story of Joseph is easily justifiable as fiction, however, there is a statue on an island in the Nile of a white-faced, non-Egyptian vizier, who saved Egypt from a devastating famine, and wall-murals depict caravans of starving desert tribesMen (from named Hebrew cities) being sold grain, both fitting perfectly with the Bible. After Joseph becomes Egypt's Vizier, with many years of famine remaining, per the Bible, he brings his father, his brothers and their enTire families to Egypt. That sets the sTAGe, centuries later, for the well-known Passover stories, with extra-biblical corroboration: Hebrew slavery; Moses (at birth) being saved from the drowning fate of male Hebrew babies; his flight from Egypt; and finally, the Exodus story, including mass deaths of Egyptians from the plagues. (Note: Other related Ezine articles: "Miracles 3500 Years Ago, Biblical Exodus - The Only Logical Explanation For 21st Century Artifacts!"; "Mystery Solved - Boy-King Tut's Magnificent Tomb - Exodus Miracles Affirmed!"; "Hebrews in Egypt - Slaves and Plagues - Extra-Biblical Proof!")

Beginning with Joseph being brought to Egypt and sold as a slave, Egyptian records correlate exactly with the Biblical episodes of Joseph's story:

Attempted seduction of a young man by a high official's wife, his rejection of her, her false charges and his subsequent imprisonMent, then release - told in an Egyptian papyrus, dated 1225 BC. (Identical to the story of Joseph and Potiphar's wife). Joseph, Vizier/Savior of Egypt. Archaeological digs along the Nile, provide an obvious and remarkable corroboration of the biblical story of Joseph. An unusual life-sized statue was found at Avaris, honoring the famed Vizier who - by Egyptian records - saved the Egyptian people from a terrible famine. The statue is of a white-faced, clean-shaven Asiatic man with unusually-shaped and red hAir, (and since legend is frequently based on fact) adjacent Egyptian wall murals depict Asian caravans of the time with similarly-featured non-Egyptian Men wearing "coats of many colors"! Described in Papyrus #1116A in the Leningrad Museum is a mural of starving desert tribesMen seeking Food from Egypt during a period of drought, "Pharaoh giving wheat to a tribe from Ashkelon, Hazor and Megiddo" (undoubtedly Hebrews from well-known cities in Israel); Roman historian, Josephus, in his book, "Josephus Against Apion", quotes two Egyptian priest-scholars, Manetho and Cheremon, who, in their own histories of Egypt, specifically name Joseph and Moses as leaders of the Hebrews, that they "rejected Egypt's customs and gods .. practiced animal sacrifices (witnessed on the first Passover)" .. These historians confirm that the Jews migrated to "southern Syria" (the Egyptian name for Palestine) and that the exodus occurred during the reign of Amenophis .. during the close of the 18th dynasty, 1500 to 1400 BC.

Reading between the lines and extrapolating the text in both the Old Testament and Egyptian artifacts, there is much that can be derived.

Pharaoh, whether or not normally religious, truly feared the interpretations of his dreams - seven fat sheaves and cows, followed by seven shriveled sheaves and lean cows. Probably the dreams were of a nightmarish quality - Pharaoh being unable to get relief from them, for he then instituted a remarkable fourteen year national program for survival of his country and people. The gigantic storage facility at Sakkara, with similar granary storehouse all over Egypt, indicates the scale and scope of the undertaking, storing excesses from the bountiful harvest during the first seven years. Because of the importance of the program, the person selected by Pharaoh as Vizier had to be truly second to Pharaoh in administrative authority (as both the Bible, re Joseph, and Egyptian artifacts, re Imhotep, attest) . An aspect of human nature - that during many years of bounty (seven - a long time), unless one is truly fearful of a deity and the prediction of seven years of famine, there is a natural tendency to "slack off". Joseph, son of Patriarch Jacob, would have complete faith in God's prediction, however, Egyptian power resided in Pharaoh, thus he primarily, had to believe completely and fearfully in the forthcoming years of famine - to put his country through such an ordeal of self-denial and discipline during years of plenty. Such a national program had to have been the most important in the country, and for fourteen years duration: during the years of plenty, hoarding all excess grain, building storage cities, then transporting and maintaining the surplus grain; then during the years of famine, selling off the grain and safeguarding Egypt's accumulating wealth. An enormous administrative task, clearly, the designation of Joseph/Imhotep as "Vizier, second in power to Pharaoh in all of Egypt", has to be recognized as extremely meaningful.
Digging Deeper - Joseph and Imhotep

The "deeper digging" is by Dr. Lennart Moeller in his book, "The Exodus Case". Dr. Moeller, a medical doctor at Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, is also an archaeologist, explorer, marine biologist, scuba diver, and a scholar of both Egyptian history and the Bible. It was Dr. Mueller who directed the diving expedition which discovered coral-covered clumps of chariot wreckage from Egypt's 18th dynasty in the Gulf of Aqaba (see listed Ezine articles).

Moeller refers to an inscription on the island of Sihiel, near the first cataract of the Nile, which actually links Imhotep to the key biblical element of the Joseph story - telling of Pharaoh Djoser in the 18th year of his reign. The inscription states "seven meagre years and seven rich years". Commenting on the inscription, Moeller writes, "Pharaoh Djoser asks Imhotep to help him with the coming seven years of famine. All the biblical components of the story are there, and there is a similar inscription on the island of Philae in the Nile." (This is exactly as in the Bible with Joseph, except for listing the "meagre" years before the years of plenty. Note: The famine years were, of course, the event of significance, saving everyone from starvation and bringing in much wealth to Egypt - it is noted that the manuscript was written a thousand years after the occurrences.) A carving in Sakkara shows starving people (ribs prominently outlined), also shows sacks of grain being carried up steps (as in the "silo" vaults at Sakkara), also Food being distributed. In summary, Moeller says, "It should be noted that there is no other period of famine of seven plus seven years in the history of Egypt - except for the one for which Imhotep was responsible." In Egyptian records, only one person is described as having the administrative authority to organize Egypt's survival during the long famine - Imhotep. The parallel to biblical Joseph is precise and compelling. Moeller cites the large number of similarities in the lives, the accomplishments, responsibilities and characteristics of Imhotep of Egypt and Joseph of the Bible. Noting the dove-tailing of their individual stories from separate Egyptian and biblical accounts, Moeller's conclusion is that the two - most probably - were the same person, the two stories told from different viewpoints. He includes 27 comparisons of Imhotep and Joseph, many are listed below.

(Imhotep - Egyptian records); Joseph - Bible:

(Imhotep is appointed Administrator by Pharaoh Djoser during the periods of seven years famine and seven years of bountiful harvests); Joseph is appointed Administrator to Pharaoh for the seven years of plenty then of famine; (Minister to the King of Lower Egypt); Pharaoh .. made him ruler over all the land of Egypt; (Administrator of the GreatPalace); Thou shalt be over my house; (Not of royal blood; attained position by ability); From another nation and religion, not of royal blood, attained position by ability; (Not appointed by Pharaoh Djoser until he had reigned for some time); Appointed well after Pharaoh ruled Egypt; (Given the status of "son" to Pharaoh); Granted the status of "son" to Pharaoh; (High Priest in Heliopolis); Married to Asenath, daughter of Poti-Pherah, High Priest in Heliopolis - by custom, would succeed father-in-law; (Builder and architect); Builder of grain storehouses such as at Sakkara step-pyramid; (Exalted by Pharaoh Djoser as of godly character.); "And Pharaoh said, 'a man in whom the spirit of God is!'" ; ("I need advice from God."); Noted as saying, "It is not in me; God shall give Pharaoh an answer."; (Had great medical skill - was compared to the Greek God of Healing); Had doctors under his authority - worked by miracles, dreams and signs from God; (Decided the tax rate during the seven years of famine; also not to apply to priests); Decided the tax rate during the seven years of famine; also not to apply to priests; (Realizes when he is dying - dies at age 110.); Realizes when he is dying - dies at age 110..

The Roman-Jewish historian, Josephus, quotes the writings of Manetho, Egyptian historian: "During [the] reign of .. Pharaoh Djoser, 3rd Egyptian dynasty, lived Imhotep .. [with a] reputation among Egyptians like the Greek God of medicine - [Manetho even wondered] whether Imhotep could have been an actual person .. [because he had] "so many outstanding qualities and talents .. a very special person [who] appears in the history of Egypt." On the foundations of the Step Pyramid in Sakkara was carved the name of Pharaoh Djoser and ".. Imhotep, Chancellor of the King of Lower Egypt, Chief under the King, Administrator of the Great Palace, Hereditary Lord, High Priest of Heliopolis, Imhotep the Builder..".

The Bible tells of Pharaoh honoring Joseph with much the same offices as given to Imhotep "It is probable that Joseph was the only person to gain Pharaoh's confidence to this degree. Joseph received every authority apart from Pharaoh himself .. [though] not of royal blood and .. [of] another nationality." (As detailed above, the same also applies to Imhotep.) In both cases there is much reference to the pharaohic announcements - "second only to Pharaoh"; the Bible also tells of Joseph being given Pharaoh's signet ring (with the royal seal), an outstanding act and undoubtedly, a national event.

A startling point is Moeller's statement about what Joseph/Imhotep achieved for Egypt, "It was during the reign of Djoser that Egypt became a great power .. great riches were accumulated during the seven years of famine .. when grain was sold to all the countries around Egypt. The complex of buildings at Sakkara is remarkably unique, nothing like it has been seen anywhere .. built of white limestone from neighboring hills." Describing the immense storage vaults at Sakkara, Moeller writes, "40,000 cubic metres storage .. remnants of grain have been found at the bottom." Egypt built a vast nation-wide system of granary-storehouses as at Sakkara, evidence of a nationwide major program to store an enormous amount of grain for an anticipated famine.

While the Bible 's story of Joseph focuses on the greater story of the Hebrew people: his father Patriarch Jacob, the brothers, the beginning of the Hebrew sojourn in Egypt, leading to their slavery, then Moses and Aaron and the miracles of the plagues and the Exodus, it is the Egyptian artifacts that tell the details of how remarkable a man was Imhotep/Joseph. Not only an exceptional administrator who built the storage cities and maintained the discipline of storing rather than dissipating the excess grain during the seven years of bounty, Imhotep was also memorialized in Egyptian history for his medical abilities - his sarcophagus was decorated with the Ibis, Egyptian symbol of medicine, and in US medical schools today there is the Imhotep Medical Society.

Final "Clincher" - that Egyptian Imhotep was the Biblical Joseph.

Extremely noteworthy regarding Imhotep-Joseph is that the mummified bodies of neither have ever been found. The known facts regarding the burials of Imhotep and Joseph also strongly support the thesis that they were the same person:

- Both died at age 108.

- Imhotep's coffin in Sakkara - with innumeral Ibis birds mummified in the adjoining galleries (Imhotep was called "Ibis" because of his reputation for healing - a large number of Ibis birds were sacrificed to him at his funeral in Sakkara); many clay vessels bearing the seal of Pharaoh Djoser were near the coffin; and the coffin is oriented to the North, not East, and is empty.

- Joseph would have been buried at Sakkara, his coffin orientated to the North - indicating he did not believe in the gods of the Egyptians (who were buried facing East, the rising sun); the coffin would also be empty as Joseph's bones would have been taken by Moses with the Hebrews during the Exodus.

Is Biblical Joseph the Imhotep of Egypt (Famine-Savior)? (Extra-Biblical Proof!)

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Rockwell Table Saw

Rockwell Table Saw


If you happen to run across a Rockwell table saw for what seems to be a great price, do not be surprised and snatch it up. This brand has been out of manufacture for many years, but was amongst the top of the line table saws in its day. Rockwell table saws are the precursors to today's Delta brand table saws and if in good shape will do anything a Delta can. If it needs a little rebuilding to bring it back to perfect running shape, I believe you would find it worth the effort.

Rockwell Table Saw

Rockwell Table Saw

Rockwell Table Saw


Rockwell Table Saw



Rockwell Table Saw

Rebuilding a Rockwell table saw is not for the casual hobbyist. It would be a challenge for a serious enthusiast, but can be accomplished. The satisfaction of bringing such a venerable table saw back to perfect working order might just be worth the effort involved. The first step towards rebuilding a Rockwell table saw would be to contact the manufacturer, Delta Machinery with the model and serial number to find the history and parts plan for your newly acquired Rockwell table saw. With these plans in hand, the rest of the Job will be easier accomplished. It will not be easy in any case.

You may have to have some parts specially manufactured at a custom machine shop as they will not be available anywhere else. With the machine plans that you can get from the manufacturer, this is not as daunting of a task as it would have been even thirty years ago. With the correct measureMents, any metal part can be machined on a Computer numerically controlled milling machine. A few minutes to an hour on a CAD program can make a program for the CNC machine to mill your needed part. This will cost a bit, but will give the Rockwell table saw new life for many years. If it happens to be a part that wears out often, have the machine shop make you a few extras. The major cost of the part will be in setting up the program, not the actual milling.

The effort needed to rebuild a Rockwell table saw might seem more than you want to spend, but after you are done and using this great table saw for your other projects, a feeling of satisfaction will come over you every time you use it.

Rockwell Table Saw

Friday, July 27, 2012

Wedding Favors With Sweet Sayings

Wedding Favors With Sweet Sayings


The question is often asked by couples when choosing wedding favors, "what kind of quote or saying should we attach to the favor?"

Wedding Favors With Sweet Sayings

Wedding Favors With Sweet Sayings

Wedding Favors With Sweet Sayings


Wedding Favors With Sweet Sayings



Wedding Favors With Sweet Sayings

With so many themed favors to choose from today the sweet sayings with a built-in symbolism are being used more and more. For example, by now, you've definitely heard about and maybe have even seen the popular wedding favor "Perfect Pear" the favors are either two pear-shaped candles or two silver pear-shaped salt and pepper shakers.

If you want to avoid using a wedding favor every other couple is using then you may want to consider expanding on the popular ones to come up with your own creation.
Instead of pear-shaped favors think of other things that usually come in pAirs.
Monogrammed pillowcases can be given as gifts with asweet notes such as: "Meant to be Together Forever" or you can take a set of salt and pepper shakers and paint a picture of a thong on each one. There you have the "perfect pAir". This idea works great for a beach-themed wedding.

For heart shaped tins, candies, or other heart-shaped sentiMents you can add the personal note: "Our Heart-Felt Thanks for Sharing our Special Day with Us" or "Thank You From The Bottom of our Hearts," "A Hearty Thank You to All Who Shared This Day."

Another idea might be to get small bottles of wedding bubbles and attach to Hershey Rosebud favor with a TAG that says, "Blowing Kisses."

With any kind of a candle favor you might say, "The Light of our Love will Always Burn Bright" or "Our Love Shines Like an Eternal Flame."

If you aredoing sweet edibles as a wedding favor which can include any type of your favorite candies or chocolates, you might say, "When These Treats You Eat, Remember Our Love So Sweet" or "The True Flavor of our Love."

For a spring or summer garden wedding you can do monogrammed gloves with a note that says, "The Perfect Fit" or customized flower seed packs with a note saying, "Plant These Seeds and Watch Our Love Blossom and Grow", "Love In Bloom" or "Help us Plant These Seeds of Love" Your guests will reminisce about your wedding day whenever they don their gloves to tend their flower garden.

Following are a few more examples of sayings that can be attached to wedding favors:

Help our love grow together (use with plants or flowers)

Our love grows on (use withplants or flowers)

Celebrate our blossoming love (for flowers or Hershey rosebuds)

Our love is a perfect blend (for teas and coffee, cocoa)

The sweet fragrance of love (for soaps, potpourri)

The flame of our love will always burn bright (for candles)

A cupful of kisses (for Hershey kisses in a cup)

Perfect harmony (for music cd favors)

A Match made in heaven (for personalized matchbook favors)

Wedding Favors With Sweet Sayings

Monday, July 9, 2012

Indian Miniature Painting-History and Techniques

Indian Miniature Painting-History and Techniques


Miniature paintings are one of the many things that make an Indian proud of his country's rich cultural heriTAGe. Miniature paintings originated long back in the history of India. Indian Paintings can be broadly classified as the murals and miniatures. Murals are huge works executed on the walls of solid structures, as in the Ajanta Caves and the Kailashnath temple.

Indian Miniature Painting-History and Techniques

Indian Miniature Painting-History and Techniques

Indian Miniature Painting-History and Techniques


Indian Miniature Painting-History and Techniques



Indian Miniature Painting-History and Techniques

Miniature paintings are executed on a very small scale on perishable material such as paper and Cloth. The Palas of Bengal were the pioneers of miniature painting in India. The art of miniature painting reached its glory during the Mughal period. The tradition of miniature paintings was carried forward by the painters of different Rajasthani schools of painting like the Bundi, Kishangarh, Jaipur, Marwar andMewar. The Ragamala paintings also belong to this school.

Indian miniature paintings are renowned worldwide for their beauty, finesse and impeccable detailing. The history of Indian Miniature Paintings can be traced to the 6-7th century AD, the time when Kashmiri Miniatures first marked their appearance. Miniature Paintings have evolved over centuries carrying the influence of other cultures. The miniature artists gave self-expression on paper, ivory panels, wooden tablets, leather, marble, Cloth and walls.

Indian artists employed multiple perspectives, unlike their European counterparts in their paintings. The idea was to convey reality that existed beyond specific vanTAGe point. Some of the special Miniature paintings includes illustrated manuscripts of Jain and Buddhists,the flowering of the Rajput and Mughal, Deccan miniatures. Themes used were from Indian epics like Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagvata Purana, Rasikpriya, Rasamanjiri as well as ragas of Indian classical music, etc.

A miniature painting, as the name signifies, is an intricate, colorful illuminations or paintings, small in size, executed meticulously with delicate brushwork. The colors used in miniatures are generally derived from natural sources and materials. Some of the paintings use pure gold and other precious gems and stones to extract the colors for beautifying these miniature paintings. India has a long and varied tradition of miniature paintings.

Themes of Miniature Art Paintings.

After the Mughal reign, which lasted 200 years, by the second part ofthe 18th century, the Rajput Maharajahs became independent. They employed these highly skilled artists to replace their own artisans, leading to a sort of painting renaissance in northern India. The whole of Rajasthan divided into numerous princely states, were patronized miniature art painting. These states had evolved a characteristic style of their own.The paintings of this era have their own unique style, being influenced by the surroundings-the deserts, lakes, hills and valleys, as the case may.Colorful glimpses of history are provided by these paintings depicting hunting and court scenes, festivals, processions, animal and bird life, and scenes from the Raaslila--Raagmala and Lord Krishna if's life story. Also, courtly lavishness and prosperity have been displayed.

Mughalpainting

Mughal painting is a particular style of Indian painting, generally confined to illustrations on the book and done in miniatures, and which emerged, developed and took shape during the period of the Mughal Empire 16th-19th centuries). Mughal paintings were a unique blend of Indian, Persian and Islamic styles. Because the Mughal kings wanted visual records of their deeds as hunters and conquerors, their artists accompanied them on military expeditions or missions of state, or recorded their prowess as animal slayers, or depicted them in the great dynastic ceremonies of marriages ...The painters focused mostly on court scenes, royal portraits, natural scenes and landscapes.

Akbar (1556-1605) was the one who started encouraging of Mughal artist. After he had consolidatedhis political power, he built a new capital at Fatehpur Sikri where he collected artists from India and Persia. More than a hundred painters were employed, most of whom were Hindus from Gujarat, Gwalior and Kashmir. They worked under the two Persian master-artists Abdus Samad and Mir Sayyid Ali, but they were encouraged and inspired by Akbar.

After him, Jehangir encouraged artists to paint portraits and durbar scenes. His most talented portrait painters were Abul Hasan and Bishan Das. Shah Jahan (1627-1658) continued the patronage of painting. Some of the famous artists of the period were Mohammad Faqirullah Khan, Mir Hashim, Muhammad Nadir, Bichitr, Chitarman, Anupchhatar, Manohar and Honhar. Aurangzeb had no taste for fine arts. Due to lack of patronage artists migrated toHyderabad in the Deccan and to the Hindu states of Rajasthan in search of new patrons.

Rajput painting

The Rajput School of Miniature Painting is imbibed inspiration from the Krishna legends. The emphasis was more on the man and woman relationship and paintings were aesthetic portrayal of their emotion, love and passion. The lovemaking scenes of Lord Krishna and Goddess Radha are some of the finest speciMens of the paintings. Rajput painting, a style of Indian painting, evolved and flourished, during the 18th century, in the royal courts of Rajputana, India. Each Rajput kingdom evolved a distinct style, but with certain common features.

Rajput paintings depict a number of themes, events of epics like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, Krishna's life, beautiful landscapes,and humans. Miniatures were the preferred medium of Rajput painting, but several manuscripts also contain Rajput paintings, and paintings were even done on the walls of palaces, inner chambers of the forts, havelies, particularly, the havelis of Shekhawat. The colors extracted from certain minerals, plant sources, conch shells, and were even derived by processing precious stones, gold and silver were used. The preparation of desired colors was a lengthy process, sometimes taking weeks. Brushes used were very fine.

Jodhpur School: The Center of this hand made paintings are love scenes then the other art figures. The Jodhpur School of Miniature paintings depict love scenes of lovers Dhola and Maru on camel back. There are hunting scenes with elephants and horses. The major colors usedin this style of painting are gold and stone color.

Jaipur School:

Gods and goddesses, kings and formal durbars are very attractively painted on hand made papers by the artists.

Kangra School:
Real gold, stone, and water colors are squirrel-hAir brushes are used. Glittering effect is extended using silver and golden colors.

Mewar School of Painting:
These represent hunting scenes which are painted on cloth and handmade paper using stone colors

Technique of Miniature Paintings:

A high degree of expertise is required as it involves the use of a very fine brush. The strokes should be absolutely perfect as they should be intricate, colorful and rational impressions. The colors used are mainly derived from minerals, vegetables, andprecious stones, indigo, conch shells, gold and silver which are obtained through a painstaking process. Paper painting in Miniature art are done on old or new hand made paper of very fine quality that depict Animals, Birds, Butterfly, Mughal themes and more. One can put these as wall hanging decorations. Miniature paintings made of pure marble slabs that feature Mythology, Birds, WoMen and Turbans, Mughal themes can be used as table tops or wall frames as well. Miniature Painting is painstaking efforts of skill and talent exhibited by Indian artisans. They have been well acclaimed and received by the world all over.

Step 1: Choose a design

Step 2: First draw the required pattern on the trace paper and copy the design into the cloth/paper using carbon sheet

Step3 Nowfirst paint the human figures. Then animals and other components of the picture. The background is painted last. This is to set each area's base color

Step4 This step need end brushes to beautify the Floors, carpets, human figures with intricate detailing. This also includes techniques like shading, highlighting, washing,

Step 5 Outlines the figures with a darker color and highlight the jewelery and other parts using metallic paints to give an appearance of richness.

Step 6 Burnishing is the last sTAGe. The miniature art painting is laid face down on a hard surface, and an agate stone is used to stroke it firmly. This gives the painting a uniform texture.

Indian Miniature Painting-History and Techniques

Alternative Energy-Why do we Need it?

Alternative Energy-Why do we Need it?


Why Do We Need Alternatives?

Alternative Energy-Why do we Need it?

Alternative Energy-Why do we Need it?

Alternative Energy-Why do we Need it?


Alternative Energy-Why do we Need it?



Alternative Energy-Why do we Need it?

To answer that question, we need to start by discussing fossil fuels-what they are, where they come from, how they are used and the advanTAGes and disadvanTAGes of each. Within this context, the pressing need for alternatives becomes quite clear.

What are fossil fuels?

Most fossil fuels are formed from the remains of long-dead creatures and plants. Buried over the course of hundreds of millions of years, these carbon-based deposits have been converted by heat and pressure over time into such combustible substances as crude oil, coal, natural gas, oil shales and tar sands. A smaller portion of fossil fuels is the handful of other naturally occurring substances that contain carbon but do not come fromorganic sources.

To make more fossil fuels would require both the creation of new topsoil filled with hydrocarbons, and time-lots of time. Given estimates of current fossil fuel reserves worldwide, it's not possible we can wait out the problem, and continue our dependence on fossil fuels until new reserves are built. At current consumption rates, the reserves of oil and coal and other fossil fuels won't last hundreds of years, let alone hundreds of millions of years.

As for creating more, experts have pointed out that it can take close to five centuries to replace a single inch of topsoil as plants decay and rocks weather. Yet in the United States, at least, much of the topsoil has been disturbed by farming, leading still more experts to the disturbing conclusion that in areasonce covered by prAirie, the past hundred years of agriculture have caused America's bread basket ' to lose half of its topsoil as it erodes thirty times Faster than it can form.

The Advantages of Fossil Fuels in Energy Production

There are many reasons why the world became dependent on fossil fuels, and continues to rely on them. For example, it has so far been relatively cost-effective in the short run to burn fossil fuels to generate electricity at strategic centralized parts of the grid and to deliver the electricity in bulk to nearby substations; these in turn deliver electricity directly to consumers. These big power plants burn natural gas or, less efficiently, coal. Since so much electricity can be lost over long-distance transmission, when power needs to beconcentrated more in one region than another, the fuels are generally transported instead to distant power plants and burned there. Liquid fuels are particularly easy to transport.

Thus far, fossil fuels have been abundant and easily procured. Petroleum reserves worldwide are estimated at somewhere between 1 and 3.5 trillion barrels. Proven coal reserves at the end of 2005, as estimated by the British, were 909.064 million tons worldwide. Coal, furthermore, is relatively cheap.

Perhaps the simplest reason why the world continues to depend on fossil fuels is that to do anything else requires change: physical, economical, and-perhaps the most difficult-psychological. The basic technology for extracting and burning fossil fuels is already in place, not only in the large power plantsbut at the consumer level, too. Retrofitting factories would be cost-prohibitive, but perhaps even more daunting would be replacing heating systems in every home, factory and building. Ultimately, however, the true resistance may be our nature. We humans tend to resist change in general, and in particular those changes that require us to give up longstanding traditions, alter our ways of thinking and living, and learn new information and practices after generations of being assured that everything was "fine" with the old ways.

Why Do We Need Alternatives?

If there are so many reasons to use fossil fuels, why even consider alternatives? Anyone who has paid the least bit of attention to the issue over the past few decades could probably answer that question. Ifnothing else, most people could come up with the first and most obvious reason: fossil fuels are not, for all practical purposes, renewable. At current rates, the world uses fossil fuels 100.000 times Faster than they can form. The demand for them will far outstrip their availability in a matter of centuries-or less.

And although technology has made extracting fossil fuels easier and more cost effective in some cases than ever before, such is not always the case. As we deplete the more easily accessible oil reserves, new ones must be found and tapped into. This means locating oil rigs much farther offshore or in less accessible regions; burrowing deeper and deeper into the earth to reach coal seams or scraping off ever more layers of precious topsoil. and entering into uncertainagreeMents with countries and cartels with whom it may not be in our best political interests to forge such commitMents.

Finally, there are human and environMental costs involved in the reliance on fossil fuels. Drilling for oil, coalmines, tunneling into transporting volatile liquids and explosive gases-all these can and have led to tragic accidents resulting in the destruction of acres of ocean, shoreline and land, killing humans as well as wildlife and plant life. Even when properly extracted and handled, fossil fuels take a toll on the atmosphere, as the combustion processes release many pollutants, including sulfur dioxide--a major component in acid rain. When another common emission, carbon dioxide, is released into the atmosphere, it contributes to the "greenhouse effect," inwhich the atmosphere captures and reflects back the energy radiating from the earth's surface rather than allowing it to escape back into space. Scientists agree that this has led to global warming, an increMental rise in average temperatures beyond those that could be predicted from patterns of the past. This affects everything from weather patterns to the stability of the polar ice caps.

Conclusion

Clearly, something must change. As with many complex problems, however, the solution to Supplying the world's ever-growing hunger for more energy will not be as simple as abandoning all the old methods and beliefs and adopting new ones overnight. Partly this is a matter of practicality-facilitating the process would take considerable investments of money, educationand, most of all, time. The main reason, however, is that there is no one perfect alternative energy source. Alternatives will not mean substitute.

What needs to change?

It seems simplistic to say that what really needs to change is our attitude, but in fact the basis of a sound energy plan does come down to the inescapable fact that we must change our way of thinking about the issue. In the old paradigm, we sought ways to provide massive amounts of power and distribute it to the end users, knowing that while much would be lost in the transmission, the advantages would be great as well: power plants could be located away from residential areas, fuels could be delivered to central locations, and for consumers, the obvious bonus was convenience. For the most partour only personal connection with the process would be calling the providers of heating fuel and electricity, and pulling up to the pumps at the gas station. And the only time we would think about the problem would be when prices rose noticeably, or the power went out.

There are people who have tried to convince us that there is no problem, and that those tree-hugging Chicken Littles who talk about renewable and alternative energy want us all to go back to nature. More often than not these skeptics ' motivations for self-perpetuating nature this myth falls into one of two categories: one, they fear what they don't understand and are resistant to being told what to do, or two, they have some political or financial stakes in enabling our fossil-fuel addiction. (And sometimes both).

Alternative Energy-Why do we Need it?

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Brinell Hardness Test Rockwell Vs-Compare and Contrast

Brinell Hardness Test Rockwell Vs-Compare and Contrast


The Brinell and Rockwell hardness tests can be used to evaluate the hardness of a wide range of metallic materials. When either test is performed accurately to how each will produce a reliable hardness rating to compare to other materials. While both the Brinell and Rockwell tests are consistent, they produce values of hardness on different scales from each other due to slightly different methods and analysis.

Brinell Hardness Test Rockwell Vs-Compare and Contrast

Brinell Hardness Test Rockwell Vs-Compare and Contrast

Brinell Hardness Test Rockwell Vs-Compare and Contrast


Brinell Hardness Test Rockwell Vs-Compare and Contrast



Brinell Hardness Test Rockwell Vs-Compare and Contrast Brinell Hardness Test Rockwell Vs-Compare and Contrast

Friday, June 1, 2012

Using Pictures to Teach Narrative Writing with Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Using Pictures to Teach Narrative Writing with Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry


Subject: Sixth Grade Language Arts-Segregation and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Using Pictures to Teach Narrative Writing with Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Using Pictures to Teach Narrative Writing with Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Using Pictures to Teach Narrative Writing with Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry


Using Pictures to Teach Narrative Writing with Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry



Using Pictures to Teach Narrative Writing with Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Time allotted: 90 minutes

Organization: large group

Objective: Students will demonstrate the understanding of the components in a narrative by using pictures about segregation to write the narrative.

Student worksheet available at http://www.trinaallen.com/rollofthunderstudent.html

Teaching Mode: Direct

Provision for Individual Differences: Students are heterogeneously mixed. The combination of modeling by the teacher and students will help to meet the needs of the varying abilities in the classroom. This assignMent is open-ended enough for all students to find success "where they are" (Gardner, 2004).

Teaching Strategies: Some lecture, dialogue, modeling,discussion, critique, planning group.

Teaching Behavior focus: Focus will be as facilitator. Students will direct the lesson by creating the model used to demonstrate narrative writing.

Materials needed for this lesson:

oOne copy of a picture depicting segregation for each student--ideally with larger copies available for order details.

oPaper-pencil

ooverhead, board and markers or chalk

oGeneral classroom Supplies

Lesson Activities:

Step 1. Anticipatory Set: (Motivation)

oAs review, ask students to write a definition of segregation. Volunteers will have their definitions. Write the definition on the board for students to refer to as they write their narratives. (Students should have read and discussed segregation and Roll ofThunder, Hear My Cry prior to this lesson).

oDistribute pictures depicting segregation-one to each student. Or ask students to bring pictures from magazines that demonstrate segregation or reverse segregation. Hang several larger pictures on the wall so students can use them for greater detail.

oStudents will examine their picture individually for five minutes, writing details on the worksheet.

Note: Newspapers and magazines are good sources of pictures for this lesson as well as the following online museum Web sites.

Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia at Ferris State http://www.ferris.edu/htmls/news/jimcrow/index.htm

Norman Rockwell Museum http://www.nrm.org/

Online Tours of the National Gallery of Arthttp://www.nga.gov/onlinetours/index.shtm

Web Museum, Paris http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/

Step 2. Objective (Overview of learning outcomes to pupils):

Students will use pictures about segregation related to their unit of study for Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry to:

odemonstrate knowledge of the characteristics of narrative writing by writing a narrative.

odemonstrate connections between images and words by using narrative writing to build understanding of content.

ouse detailed vocabulary in writing their text.

Step 3. Presentation of information (Input):

Students will review the following characteristics of narrative writing as a whole class: developing plot, character and setting using specific detail and ordering events clearlyusing chronological order.
Direct students ' attention to one picture on the board. As a whole class have students brainstorm possible events and characters this picture illustrates about segregation. Place the words or phrases under the following headings on the board as students share their ideas. Have students fill in this information on their worksheets.

Characters Setting Situation Feelings Vocabulary

Step 4. Modeling/Examples:

Use one character from the class table. Model writing a narrative on the board from the character's point of view by calling on students to give the details. Encourage students to describe the picture and to invent an original story related to the segregation illustrated in the picture. Decides as a class whether to tell the storythat leads up to the picture, or to tell us the events that follow the picture. Write events in chronological order on the board as well as including the character's feelings and thoughts.

Step 5. Checking for Understanding:

Have students evaluate the story written on the board that they created by checking the blank before each eleMent of narrative writing that they find in the class story about segregation.

1. _____ One character's point of view.

2. _ _ _ _ _ Details about the character.

3. _____ Details about the setting.

4. _ _ _ _ _ Details about the situation.

5. _ _ _ _ _ The story was in the correct chronological order.

6. _ _ _ _ _ The narrative contained feelings and thoughts.

Circulate as students work to check for understanding. Call onstudents to share their evaluation to be sure all students understand the content.

Step 6. Guided Practice:

Using the picture that they were assigned (or the one they brought from home) students will brainstorm possible events and characters by filling their ideas in the same table used in step 3:

Characters Setting Situation Feelings Vocabulary

Circulate to check for understanding.

Step 7. Independent Practice:

Have students choose one character from the table and write a narrative similar to the one modeled for them in step 4 from that character's point of view. Students will invent an original story related to the segregation illustrated in the picture. They will decide whether to tell the story that leads up to the picture, or to tell us theevents that follow the picture. They will write events in chronological order and write about the character's feelings and thoughts.

Step 8. Closure:

Students will be evaluated using the same rubric used in step five, Checking for Understanding. Refer students to that evaluation rubric and ask students to give the example from the story previously written on the board to illustrate each area from the rubric. The stories can be assigned as homework or completed as a class work as per the preference of the teacher.

Note: This lesson is modified from Gardner, t. (2004). A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words: From Image to Detailed Narrative, from http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=116.

Using Pictures to Teach Narrative Writing with Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Thursday, April 26, 2012

How to Make a time-lapse Video With Your Digital Video Camera

How to Make a time-lapse Video With Your Digital Video Camera


Getting the most out of your digital video camera can mean being able to create some really cool stuff. You just have to step outside the manual a bit and find the cool things you can do with your digital camera and your video editing software.

How to Make a time-lapse Video With Your Digital Video Camera

How to Make a time-lapse Video With Your Digital Video Camera

How to Make a time-lapse Video With Your Digital Video Camera


How to Make a time-lapse Video With Your Digital Video Camera



How to Make a time-lapse Video With Your Digital Video Camera

We have all seen them in a movie or a TV show, those very cool shots where they speed up time and capture a long segMent of time and condense it into a very short amount of videos. An example is many of the TV news stations nowadays have a camera that captures the day's weather and then they process it down to a 20 second clip to show the clouds and weather racing by on screen.

Well this technique is not just a tool in the hands of the movie makers or the big TV stations. You can do this with your digital video camera gear too. THEwill go into two ways that you can accomplish this effect and get some cool results for your next video project. This one is worth playing around with in order to find the right settings to get the most dramatic effect.

Technique number one is to use the camera itself to do the time lapse recording for you. Almost all digital video cameras have the ability to do an interval recording. What this means in a nutshell is that you tell the House how long you want to record for and how long in between recordings and it will go on autopilot for you for as long as the battery lasts or the tape runs out. This is what those cameras at the convenience store, they do record a few seconds of motion every 30-60 seconds giving the overall view of the traffic in the store over time.

Now ifyou want to capture some time lapse in your digital video camera you will need to get into your cameras Menu and find Interval Recording (or in my case Int Rec, as I use a Sony PD 150 for my room) When you select this option you will decide how long of an interval between shots you want and how long to record each time. If you are trying to capture something that takes a long time to occur and in which not much happens quickly you will want to set the interval at around a minute and the record time as short as possible on your room. An example would be if you wanted to record a day in the life of a flower or the clouds rolling by in the sky. Suppose however that you want to capture an event that has lots of action and occurs over a much shorter time frame. Then you would want toshorten the interval between recordings and increase the time of each recording. So in this case you might record every 15-30 seconds and record up to 2-3 seconds of video each time.

I used this technique to capture an afternoon of work being done by a team of carpenters on my house remodeling project. The result was a flurry of activity as workers raced hither and yon nailing boards, carrying equipMent and building walls. I have added it to my photo collection of the project. (Hey I had to live through the project so I might as well have a great record of it for posterity!)

Now suppose you have one of the great video editing software packages on your Computer to work with your digital video camera. Now you can do it in post as they say in the business. You can record anylength of video you want (subject to the limitations of your tape length) and then import it into your editing program.

Sidebar:

I use Adobe Premiere Pro for editing my Jobs, but I have also used Avid DV Express, Final Cut Pro, and others in the non linear editing world. These are all great programs and are very powerful products that can create some very professional looking videos. You don't have to have these products to create your own videos but if you are serious about digital video editing, it might be a good idea to take a look at these options.

I digitize my raw video of the scene I am doing time lapse on into my Computer (big hard drive, video eats up GB's of space) and then import the clips into my time line. From the timeline, you can then select the clip with aright click. From there you will be given a menu with options depending on the software you use. Select the option that says "duration", "speed" or something similar. Change the speed of the clip so that time will speed up considerably. If you have an hour of video in the clip and want to shorten it to -5 2 minutes then you need to increase the speed of the clip to 3 or 4 thousand percent of normal. This will require your software to render the clip at the higher speed and may take some time top process depending on the speed of your Computer.

Once you have rendered the video clip at the new speed you will want to play it to see if the movie flows evenly or if you will want to readjust the speed setting to make it better. Sometimes you may want to shorten your raw video and adjustthe speed down somewhat in order to get a smooth flow of action. Once you have rendered the clip at the new speed you can now cut and splice it as you see fit with the speeded up action intact. There are some things you will record that might only need a slight speed change, take for instance some digital pictures of your kids playing sports. Double or triple the speed of the clip and show it to them and you might have them rolling on the floor.

You can also use these techniques to capture the growth of a flower or plant over the course of days or weeks. Simply set you camera in exactly the same place at the same time each day and record an interval that works each day fro however long you want to document. May be you get the seedling just breaking soil and follow it all the waythrough turning into a full grown plant.

Another interesting idea is to capture the path of the moon across the night sky. Set up your camera on a tripod in a spot that can see the path of the moon for several hours. Set the camera to interval record and put the moon on one side of the frame so that it will pass across the frame as the night passes. This one may require some testing in order to get the exposure and framing right as well as the right to record at interval. Most likely you would want to set the interval as long as you can and the record time as short as you can but do a test run first to see what works.

How to Make a time-lapse Video With Your Digital Video Camera

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Vintage Prints

Vintage Prints


VinTAGe prints are great choices for those looking to jazz up there home or office and certain artists have become closely linked to a moveMent loosely termed vinTAGe art. This article discusses the merits of this art style and Mentions many of the most famous vintage artists.

Vintage Prints

Vintage Prints

Vintage Prints


Vintage Prints



Vintage Prints

Alphonse Mucha is one such artist who is strongly linked to this art generalisation, with his Czech Art Nouveau architecture and decorative art. His use of colour and attractive depiction of classic female poses in traditional costumes have made key vintage artist Mucha, and his works have proven excellent choices as prints.

Norman Rockwell was a 20th century American painter and illustrator who commonly captured people in every day situations. Rockwell painted America and Americans for over60 years and showed his nation's people with unabashed frankness and poigNancy, giving us a living chronicle of ourselves, our dreams, and our aspirations.

Other well known artists include Kerne Erickson vintage, Glen c. Sheffer, Ken Bailey, Herbert Libiszewski, Steve Forney, Leonetto Cappiello, Johanna Kriesel, Norman Parkinson, Georges Massias and Francisco Tamagno. Further information can be found on them around the internet but most of them do not have careers as established as Mucha and Rockwell, though that may change in the future as their careers continue. Many continue to strive to push their art on and find new ways of covering older techniques.

Vintage Prints

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Rockwell RK5107K SoniCrafter-A Professional Grade Oscillating Tool For A Homeowner Budgeting

Rockwell RK5107K SoniCrafter-A Professional Grade Oscillating Tool For A Homeowner Budgeting


What exactly is the Rockwell RK5107K SoniCrafter? It is an oscillating tool that uses a variety of blades to sand, grind and cut a variety of materials. It is your all-in-one tool kit for carpentry work. Using high frequency oscillation to produce safe moveMents without kick-back. What is high frequency oscillation? Think of the clippers that your barber uses to cut your hAir. They have a set of blades that move back and forth or oscillate to cut your hAir. Fein tools had the first patent on a tool of this sort. But when the patent expired a number of tool companies jumped on the band wagon having tools waiting in the wings to roll out as soon as it did. Being that Fein had the patent, their price was well ... pricey.

Rockwell RK5107K SoniCrafter-A Professional Grade Oscillating Tool For A Homeowner Budgeting

Rockwell RK5107K SoniCrafter-A Professional Grade Oscillating Tool For A Homeowner Budgeting

Rockwell RK5107K SoniCrafter-A Professional Grade Oscillating Tool For A Homeowner Budgeting


Rockwell RK5107K SoniCrafter-A Professional Grade Oscillating Tool For A Homeowner Budgeting



Rockwell RK5107K SoniCrafter-A Professional Grade Oscillating Tool For A Homeowner Budgeting

It doesn't matter if you are a professional woodworker or an avid weekend warrior do-it-yourselfer, the RK5107 can make any Job you want to tackle more streamlined. Easily carried in its lightweight case, it can be at your fingertips for all your remodeling or repair projects.

The Rockwell RK5107K SoniCrafter 73 piece is a kit that comes with the basics that includes three cutting blades, carbide grit blade, sanding finger pad with 30 finger sanding sheets, triangular sanding pad with 30 triangular sanding sheets and one polishing pad. The kit also includes the variable speed tool and carrying case. Included is a broad spectrum scraper, carbide grit to triangular rasp, a vacuum adapter to control dust and debris and a hex key to change accessories easily.

What can you do with the SoniCrafter? Sprucing up yourhouse or garage use the scraper blade to scrape old paint and caulking. Bathroom remodel? Remove grout with the carbide grit blade. Need to notch studs to route plumbing pipes, the oscillating tool fitted with the cutting blades will do the Job and fit into those hard to reach places. The super high frequency oscillation technology of the RK5107K produces up to 20.000 back and forth moveMents per minute for ultra smooth, efficient results. What this means is because there are no rotating blades there is virtually no threat of kickback, giving safe and accurate results.

For sanding jobs, the Rockwell SoniCrafter requires very little downward pressure and delivers accurate results. Its slim body design lets you work in areas you never thought possible.

Rockwell RK5107K SoniCrafter-A Professional Grade Oscillating Tool For A Homeowner Budgeting

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Solar Energy Pros and Cons

Solar Energy Pros and Cons


There is no single "perfect" energy producing technology. All of them have advanTAGes and disadvanTAGes, even solar power. Let's take a look at both sides of the issue for solar power.

Solar Energy Advantages:

Solar Energy Pros and Cons

Solar Energy Pros and Cons

Solar Energy Pros and Cons


Solar Energy Pros and Cons



Solar Energy Pros and Cons

1. Solar energy is a renewable resource, for all practical purposes.

2. Except for the processes involved in manufacturing the materials, solar energy does not give off any harmful substances.

3. Sun, unlike fossil fuels, does not exist only in specific pockets of the earth: it is everywhere, although not in evenly distributed concentrations.

4. Sunlight is free.

5. While far from perfect, the technology required to use solar radiation as energy to produce heat, light, mechanical power and electricity alreadyexists.

6. Small solar power systems are easily installed.

7. The systems are very low maintenance: they have no moving parts (except for fans and pumps, for example) and can last a long time.

8. Small systems require very little in the way of "monitoring" for routine operation.

9. Given the right data, it is almost always possible to predict how much power a solar energy system will produce.

10. The systems are quiet and increasingly unobtrusive.

Solar Power Disadvantages

1. The initial costs for components can be high.

2. Rarely efficient enough, predictable enough, or powerful enough to provide a substantial portion of a specific user's needs: needs efficient storage for "down" times.

3. Not every location isa feasible site for solar.

4. Solar "farms," like almost all large-scale building projects, are subject to the "NIMBY" syndrome ("Not in MY backyard!").

Solar Energy Pros and Cons

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

The Top Ten Most Unique Cities of the World

The Top Ten Most Unique Cities of the World


Most folks that write have never experience what they write; I have in most everything I've ever written, experienced it first, in one way or another. Here are the Top Ten Most Unique Cites of the world. When somebody writes about something, they got to know where they are coming from, because the writer is always biased. CNN did a review on the best places in the world to live a year ago or so, and I reviewed it, and did my own. Why? Because the person, or persons doing the review were limited in experience to do a proper review. Why do I say that, because they picked out Geneva, as the best place to live in his world? Their criteria were whatever it was, but Europe is no safer to live nowadays, than America, or New York City was in 2001. Geneva is prone to terrorist attacks just as much as New York City was, or any city that has a United Nations in it, or some form of world GovernMent.

Another thing is, it is very expensive to live there, I've been to Switzerland, and it is not cheap. Plus, the weather is not all that hot or great, the Mantaro Valley of Peru is much better, likened to Arizona, safer and cheaper to live, with a good hospital near by Huancayo. I could go on, but my point is, their selection was bogus to me, simply a way to advertise Geneva so people would go there. So to be honest about what you write you must experience it. I've traveled for 38-years, over 700,000-Air miles, to 60-countries, and 46-states. I've been on seven of the so called, eight continents (the eighth being the South Pacific Islands, I yet to go to Antarctica, then I will have been to all of them.

Hear is my list of cities:

1--Paris (France), yes I'm also biased, that is my prerogative though. Paris is my city, not necessarily its people, if indeed I could put Londoners into Paris, and kick out the Parisians, it would become even a greater city in my eyes. But here is a city, deserving or not, that has all the monuMents, all the great museums, where all the great writers came, and painters, poets, cultures, and so forth and on, and on. Victory Hugo lived here was senator. Where Gertrude Stein open her doors to the US Military Men; where Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Joyce, Picasso and Dali, came to paint and write, experience. Notre Dame, perhaps the most grandest church in the world resides here, and the Arch of Triumph remain to be seen, to those of us who can feel victory over war. And of course the renowned Eiffel Tower, which played a part in the 1880s World FAir. I've also been to Paris four times. It surely is a city of lights, as New Orleans is a city of Night.

2--New York City (USA) I've been to NYC four times, it is to me, the city of bulk, took my breath away when I first saw it. And Battery Park, looking out into the bay, to the Statue of Liberty, is a humbling thing. Walking down 5th Ave, and through Central Park, onto Times Square, and down to the Empire State Building, is a unique experience. Manhattan: engulfs, and traps you. And I found it as safe, if not safer than Athens, Rome, or London.

3--Istanbul (Turkey)--it is a unique city near the Black Sea, and its streets, and Mosques (especially the Blue Mosque), Cathedral, and its towering walls that stretch up and down the straight, are marvelous. Here you can shop in the world's largest Bazaar (open Market), be careful, you can get lost. The Food is good in Turkey, and the people are warm and friendly, be careful if you travel outside of Turkey, not every city is as friendly as Istanbul. I have only been here once, but would come back a second and third time, if life and money permits. And very few cities do I ever return to.

4--Valetta (Malta) in the heart of the Mediterranean, it is unique among all the islands. I been to many islands in the world, and the only other one that can compare to this island is Easter Island. The island has its caves and archaeological sites, which seem to be in the backyards in residential areas. The city is a great walled city, and plays a historic roll in the times of the Crusades, as well as WWII: it has more churches on it than Rome I believe. Called the Maltese, which it has three connecting, I also went to Gozo. But the city is a gem. My wife would love to come back here.

5--San Francisco (USA) it is where it all started in the 1960s, and I was there for a year, 1968-69. It was the city by the bay. With its Golden Gate Park, and its Golden Gate Bridge, and it was a time of music, and a freedom never duplicated since. It is the most quaint and unique City on any coast, of the world. And it, like Paris, has its landmarks to see. And smaller than New York City, it has a sense of bulkiness. The Ocean sweeps into your hands almost, and the turn of the 19th century remains in the city a bit. It is where all the musicians go to, come out of, remain. I lived here a year.

6--Lisbon (Portugal) it has it history, its great Castle on the hill, its iron tower, which I went to a half dozen times, Eiffel, made it, yes, the very one who made the tower in Paris. The city has its parks, and its monuMents, and is liken to Malta, in the since, the city is almost on top of the Ocean. It was devastated by an earth quake a hundred years ago or so, and was a world trade port at one time. You can see its uniqueness in its architecture, like Havana, Cuba.

7--Kyoto (Japan) City of the Geisha, city in the middle of Japan, so it seems; and a unique city at that; it has its monuments, in the form of temples, and its historic section called Geon, which I walked down, and was treated very well by the folks in the guest houses. It has an old aqueduct and a great tower also in the city. When I think of Kyoto, I think always of the best city in Japan, not huge, but clean, with all the taste of Japan rolled up in one city.

8--Sevilla (Spain) this is the city of Hercules, where legend says he was born. And where legend says, Columbus is buried in its cathedral. Here is where there are bullfights, and a great night life, singing and playing guitars in the larger clubs. The Food is great here, and the plazas are picturesque. It is a peaceful place, with a unique richness, freshness, and it has its canals in the city liken to Burges.

9--Burges (Belgium) The greatest medieval city in Europe, what more can I say, as my wife said when she says it: it looks like a fAirytale city. Other than that I'm lost for words, but take a ride in a boat around its channels (like Venice).

10--Cusco (Peru) Peru in general is the Egypt of South America, but much friendlier than CAiro, for I've been in Egypt, and Cairo, and would never return. When I was in Egypt, and Cairo, I always felt guarded, or needed to be, in Peru, the folks love you there, and I really never feel the need to be over guarded. I was to Peru 9-times, to Cusco once, to the Mantaro Valley four times, to Lima, nine. I'm not sure where you start, to bring out the glory of my trips. It is the land of the Inca, and in the Mantaro Valley, the land of the Great Warriors, the Wanka. They have the coast, or ocean by Lima, and Cusco, has the Andes, and Machu Picchu, and world monument. But wherever you go in Peru, are monuments. To the north of Lima, is the famous and deadly Amazon, which I've been down. So you got a city in the mountains, called Cusco, surrounded by a world called Peru, a unique place, like Cusco.

2nd Place:

Venice, Italy (City on Water)

Havana, Cuba (City of Architecture)

Glastonbury, England (City of the Tor)

Stockbridge, Massachusetts (Norman Rockwell's city)

Rome, Italy (Regal City of the World)

Athens, Greece (City of Thesus)

New Orleans, USA (The city of Night)

Augsburg, Germany (Old Roman Compound)

Beijing, China (City of the Forbidden City)

Buenos Aires (The city of Eva Peron)

Jaipur, India (the Pink city)

The Top Ten Most Unique Cities of the World


The Top Ten Most Unique Cities of the World


The Top Ten Most Unique Cities of the World